A real-time look-ahead interpolation algorithm based on Akima curve fitting

To process the complex geometric-shapes consisting of discrete data points, this paper presents a real-time look-ahead interpolation algorithm based on Akima curve fitting. The algorithm consists of two modules: pretreatment module and real-time interpolation module. The pretreatment module firstly adopts the bi-chord and tangent-chord criteria to identify those continuous Akima blocks and calculates the linking velocity between two adjacent blocks according to the required machining accuracy. Then the five-point Akima method is used to fit the continuous blocks into a Akima spline curve. In the real-time interpolation module, the look-ahead interpolation is executed to ensure that the processing error is limited in a satisfying range, and the Newton iteration method is employed to calculate the parameters when interpolating Akima spline blocks. Simulations and experimental results demonstrate that the Akima spline is more suitable when processing discrete data points. And the proposed look-ahead interpolation algorithm could reduce the feedrate fluctuation to satisfactory level and implement high-quality CNC processing.